New Wardrobe Challenge: The Bump

So I guess I have some news, which I'm sure you could figure out from some of the pics below. I am thankfully past the stage of having to hide it now, but am faced with a new challenge: how to dress for my new (rapidly changing) body shape? 

I have been roughly the same shape and size for... well, I guess my entire adult life, with a tiny bit of all round growth. Over the years I have developed my own sense of style and have always been quite definite about what styles I am drawn to when shopping. I now realise that this largely consist of waisted styles, which are now useless to me. For the first time, I have really struggled with shopping and style. At first I panicked, and bought a couple of things because they fit me, now because I actually liked them. Now I am finally starting to build up a little wardrobe of items that suit my shape, yet also feel like "me". Here are some of my recent purchases:

 Karen Walker blouse, worn undone like a jacket with Forever 21 singlet

 Cotton On pants (very comfy $5 sale find)

worn with Kathryn Wilson loafers

 ASOS maternity dress, worn with Karen Walker belt

 Karen Walker dress, worn with Alannah Hill belt

accessorised below with Country Road scarves and Sretsis belt

Karen Walker: The American Girl, printed pants and other lovely things...

 

 I'd had my eye on these Karen Walker Perfect Day boat pants for awhile, but thought the printed pants trend wouldn't last too long... but then I saw that she's made a whole heap more for her new collection, The American Girl... and they were on sale... what can I say?

 

So many printed pants! This dress looks great too:

   

Not to mention a BUG PRINT top! (I think you can imagine my excitement):

   

 Pics from The Vine and Rag Pony

Printed pants are admittedly a little hard to style, but I think they work best with minimal accessories. 

Here's a few outfits with my Perfect Day pants:

 

 A pop of colour and a little texture: with Zara cropped sweater

Matched with a neutral white: silk blouse by Sretsis (those flowers turn purple in the sun!)

 

similar tone in a lighter shade: Sretsis silk blouse... And you have to see the close-up of this (adorable!):

New dresses with fun prints

Dresses by Karen Walker and Sara Phillips

This Karen Walker dress is lots of fun, with its quirky scout badge print. But for some reason, the loose-fitting silk crepe de chine bodice and chiffon sleeves look completely elegant - such a contrast! The colours are very flattering and the dress looks good belted (as shown here with my Karen Walker chain belt) or unbelted. Buy from Karen Walker or Maximillia (it's very well-priced too!)

I'd mentioned in a previous post that Sarah Phillip's latest collection had caught my eye, and this was the main dress that I was lusting after. Adorable shirt dress style with pleated skirt, in the softest silk and the most gorgeous colours. This dress also comes in a colour-block version for those who want to be more on trend... but this patterned one was just my style. Buy from Sarah Phillips.

Sp-riiiing!

Ah, my favourite season has arrived.  The weather has been gorgeous and so far I have celebrated with a trip to the beach, happy hour on the deck and general lazing on my picnic blanket in the sun.  Bring on the long afternoons!

Here are some outfit details (said outfits involved the baring of legs which had been hidden since my USA trip).  I must say, this warm, sunny, in-between weather is very easy to dress for.

 Knit: Zara; Skirt: Karla Spetic; Watch: Michael Kors; Brogues: Stuart Weitzman

T-shirt: Lover; Culottes: Sportsgirl (on sale for $25!)

These shorts are amongst the first of my Spring purchases. I am in the process of a big wardrobe cull, so I don't think I need too much more... but it is nice to have a few new pieces, isn't it?

Sarah Phillips Luxor

I've never really been drawn to Sarah Phillips before, but was instantly attracted to her new Luxor collection. There are some things that I would never wear (pics not included here, but there are some huge cutouts, I know that's a big trend right now) but even so they do look oh-so-pretty for those daring enough. Likewise, colour blocking is a big trend for Spring (again, not sure if I will embrace) and the pink lace pieces are very sweet. But, as always, it's the prints that really caught my attention. Gorgeous colours, classic cuts, but still very unique... I can feel my first Sarah Phillips purchase coming on.

Peach + Navy

Sretsis dress and shorts
Chloe shoes and bag
Equipment shirt

Spring is just around the corner, and I'm liking the idea of peach and navy as a possible colour combination. Add some fun accessories, textures and prints... can you tell that this is the season that makes me happiest?

Playing with prints

I'm a sucker for prints, and Karla Spetic's canvas-worthy creations for her 'Borderlands' collection had me at "hello". I'd been eying off this leather-backed skirt and when I saw it at 50% off at Joy Hysteric I couldn't resist. I played around with styling it with both warmer and cooler styles to bring me into Spring:

Sportsgirl blouses (the brown one circa 2002!)
Lilya wedges and Stuart Weitzman brogues

Next was the Karen Walker blouse from my previous post - plain and casual with shorts and wedges; substituted a skirt some mixed print action:

Shorts and skirt by Karen Walker

Finally, a Karla Spetic blouse, also a sale purchase from the 'Borderlands' collection. Seriously, her prints are irresistible. The colours are a little darker than I usually go for, which I've found makes it an easy go-to for nights out. I like to keep the styling fairly plain with this one:

J-Brand jeans
Lover leather jacket
Country Road shearling collar